Three Types of Intoxication
by Maeve Dark Phoenix
Summary: AU. Aizen's army has been defeated, and the girl who defeated Gin Ichimaru has been promoted to the Captain of the 9th Division. But not even being a Captain can save her from the biggest threat... falling for Kuchiki Byakuya. ByakuyaxOC
1. Three Stages

"Kyoraku Misaki, today you have been presented in front of us, the Gotei 13, for one reason: the ceremony of making you the captain of the 9th Division." The Elderly leader drawled out. "You have not only been recommended, but in only thirty years after leaving the Academy, you have reached Bankai. In the fight against Aizen and the Arrancar, you fought valiantly, dispatching a previous Captain, Gin Ichimaru."

The sun was shining viciously that hot summer morn'. It was a day that would not soon be forgotten by any of those gathered together that day. Many wondered, how could this fragile-looking girl possibly become a Captain in so little time? How was it, that this single female dispatched the strong Gin Ichimaru? What was it in that small frame so many Captains readily recommended her to take over the 9th Division? Sweat dripped steadily down all the living gathered around, watching, and waiting. Even the flowers seemed to be sweating on this, what seemed to be, mercurial morning. The ceremony was normally a more private affair, but this time hundreds of the students attending the Academy were even there. This was not even mentioning all of the Shinigami in Soul Society. Necks craned like giraffes in order to get a better look: the time was drawing near.

"Now, only one part is left. Show us your true power." Yamamoto announced in a spectacular way.

The apprehensive subject glanced in the way of her proud brother. The flamboyant man caught her eye and gave her a thumbs-up. 'Good luck' an excited Kyoraku Shunsui mouthed. Not even he had seen his sister's bankai yet.

She unsheathed her Zanpakuto and muttered some inaudible words to change it into the Shikai stage. Then, one booming word left her lips, a sound that all the hundreds gathered heard. "Bankai!"

"Now, Misaki! We party in celebration! Come, the sake is going to be flowing!" An overly-excited Rangiku spat at the reluctant new Captain.

Misaki shook her head delicately, "My brother is the drinker, Rangiku, not me. You should know that by now."

"Doesn't mean that we shouldn't start a family tradition, Saki-chan!" Shunsui approached his sister warmly, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "You just got moved up to Captain! I had a wonderful party when I was moved up, and now it's your turn. Come on, all the Captains attend."

"Yeah, even stiffs like my Captain will be there." Rangiku said, making a motion in reference to her vertically-challenged Captain. "Well, Yamamoto-sama doesn't come, but that's different."

"Fine. I'm convinced." She said as Shunsui and Rangiku exchanged looks of victory.

Misaki regretted her decision as soon as she walked through the door into the garden of raging drunkards. Rangiku and Shunsui already had the smell of alcohol on their breaths, but that wasn't as surprising. What was surprising was the sight of a very drunk Captain Zaraki allowing his beloved lieutenant to nearly fall into a large bowl of sake.

It seemed that out of the entire body of 5th seats and up for every division was drunk, except five people: Kyoraku Misaki, Captain Histugaya, Captain Ukitake, her brother's beloved lieutenant, Nanao, and Kuchiki Byakuya.

Misaki found her eyes lingering on the last name listed for much longer than she anticipated. She was most definitely in… "The Stage". "The Stage" that all the woman in Soul Society go through at one point in their life, and Misaki had divided into three parts:

The initial attraction. He was a beautiful man, absolutely stunning, breathtaking, a wonder for the eyes… the list could go on for pages. Most women were generally in this part of The Stage their whole life.

For more fantasy-prone people, the crush stage follows. Every time the women in this category would see him, their heart would quicken, they would get goofy smiles on their face, and even though they constantly told themselves they didn't have a chance, they still dream of the day Kuchiki Byakuya acknowledges their existence.

The irresistible stage. Misaki diagramed herself at this point. Every time she got a good look at him, her heart quickened, a quivering started in her legs and moved… up. It was all she could do to keep her breathing level, and resist the giant urge to shunpo across the room and quickly slip him some tongue. Or a lot of tongue. Or an entire make-out session. Or even…

_No!_ Misaki chastised herself._ Those thoughts are saved for more rebellious people _

_like Rangiku. I, I am Kyoraku Misaki and I am level-headed, calm, shy, and definitely not hormone-ridden! _She shut her head tight and put both hands over her head, shaking it viciously. Perhaps she thought if she shook her head hard enough, the thoughts would simply fall out. But, that is definitely not what happened, and instead earned her curious attention.

"Are you alright, Kyoraku-san?" A velvet drawl pulled musically at her ears, a siren's call beckoning her toward an abyss. She pulled one eye open, looking at the man of the hour between two fingers. Blood rushed to her face as she quickly pushed her hands down.

What could she do now? Bite her nails? Tug on her hair? Pull on her earlobe? Run away and hide? Shake? Shiver? Scream? "I-I'm…p-perfect. Thank you, K-Kuchiki-sama." She stammered out. _Right. That's what people do when one speaks to another. They answer, and try not to look like a babbling buffoon. _She flashed a meek smile.

Said Kuchiki had opened his mouth to respond. So many things could have come out of his perfect, godly lips. Maybe a 'congratulations on becoming a captain' or 'your Bankai was splendid' or maybe even 'I think you're beautiful and you should marry me', as Misaki's imagination was terribly active this night, but she would never know what kind of profession would leave the perfectly sculpted lips of Kuchiki Byakuya. A very ill-timed, yet genuinely concerned brother decided to approach his incredibly embarrassed sister rather obnoxiously.

"Saki-chan! Are you feeling well? You're as red as flames! Did you drink any sake? Can you not hold your alcohol? Do you have a fever?" The very inebriated Shunsui fretted over his dear sister. Then reason began to push past the barriers of intoxication, and realization hit his face in a very obvious manner as he slowly twisted his head between the tall Kuchiki and his short sibling. "Ohhh…" He drawled out, completely oblivious to the damage he was causing. "Right, well. Seems you're fine. Carry on, Kuchiki-kun, Saki-chan." He added a sloppy wink to top of the icing on the cake.

Misaki exhaled slowly, and bent her head in shame, until Byakuya cleared his throat. "I'm sure you have many others to converse with this evening." He stated before turning briskly on his heel, leaving the party and disappearing thoroughly, Misaki being silently hopeful that this all was a trick of the mind.

She looked around slowly, making sure her escape would be as stealthy as Byakuya's, and slipped quietly out of the partying room, and headed back to the home she shared with Shunsui. It would be her last remaining night there, and she wanted to savour the home as she was never able to before.

Misaki smiled softly to herself. The Captain's haori was something that was quiet pleasing to own. All of the lower rank Shinigami were bowing their heads respectfully to the newly appointed Captain as she made her way to the 9th Division Captain's office. She was very excited to know that one of her closest friends, Shuuhei Hisagi, would be her very own lieutenant. Shuuhei Hisagi was also pleased, for he also knew his friend was a hard-worker so she'd be likely be taking a lot of the work load off his shoulders.

A bright smile and enthusiastic personality cloaked her demeanor as she threw open the office doors, not bothering to close it. She nearly ran over to Shuuhei's side to wrap him in an embrace. He merrily returned the gesture.

"Misaki, I am so happy for you." He said genuinely. "However, I didn't get a chance to congratulate you yesterday, since you disappeared from the festivities so quickly." He paused thoughtfully. "Your Bankai was absolutely wonderful."

"Thank you. You know, you're close to that point yourself. Almost seems silly to put me in charge when you'll be just as strong as me in no time." Misaki said sheepishly.

"Oh, don't put yourself down. You have enough trouble with crowds to begin with, and today, you must introduce yourself to your squad. I asked them to all be assembled at this time, so let's hurry out." Shuuhei said, leading the way.

Misaki made a face of a little distaste, but hurried after him to where all of her division was assembled. She scanned over the crowd nervously. There were a lot of them. She must've been thinking for longer than she realized, for Shuuhei cleared his throat impatiently and motioned for her to step up.

Misaki scratched her head bashfully. Give her a month or two, and she'd be open with every single one of the people in her division. Unfortunately, her shyness was extremely strong around people she didn't know. "Um," She began, feeling her anxiety rise as she saw some of the division shift their weight uncomfortably, "To begin, I'm honoured to have been made Captain of this division. I really want to live up to those standards, and I hope that as a division, we will all learn to know each other's weaknesses, and therefore be able to support one another." She paused, taking a couple seconds to think. "I believe that the seated officers we have now have a lot of potential, from the research I've done, and that's only the beginning. With the right training, I'm positive that all of you will be able to be on par with every single other seated position, and some of you, lieutenants!" Her voice rose excitedly, as her shyness turned into an awkward confidence, a bright smile colouring her face. Many of the division smiled at the new Captain's kindness and enthusiasm. Shuuhei Hisagi joined in the smiles in a knowing manner, well-aware of the effect this girl would have on the members of the division. He had no doubt that she'd soon become their sunshine and hope.


	2. Collisions

"Hey, hey, have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Cows!"

"Don't be stupid, this is serious."

"Out with it then."

"Apparently, there's a chance that Tosen-sama and Aizen-sama weren't even killed! Their deaths were never accounted for! There's no records!"

"Impossible!"

"Wouldn't they be wrecking havoc if they were still alive?"

"I bet they're lying in wait and gathering their energy."

"They're not bears. They don't hibernate."

"Think of it this way: Soul Society would be more alert if they could be alive."

"Maybe Aizen has everyone under hypnosis again. That would explain it."

"All of Soul Society, under the impression of one man? I think not. Plus, we're questioning it, aren't we? That must mean we aren't under his spell."

"Isn't Kyoraku Misaki-taicho the only one out of all the Captains to have not seen his Shikai released? She could be our only hope!"

"Hey, hey, speaking of Kyoraku Misaki-taicho, I have this _juicy_ gossip!"

"Ohhhh! Spill it! Now!"

"So, word around is that she has a _giant_ crush on Kuchiki-taicho."

"That's not that interesting. Who _doesn't_ have a giant crush on Kuchiki-taicho?"

A baritone voice cleared his throat behind his gossiping 6th Division members. All of the gossipers jumped frightfully, all bowing and giving apologies in union. The Captain simply turned on his heels and walked away from the fervent gossipers.

Misaki had indeed created a self-fulfilling prophesy. It had been a mere month into her Captain-ship, and she was incredibly comfortable with all of her division, finding it to be like home. Shuuhei Hisagi and herself made an incredible duo in instructing their division. Both were hard-workers, both were respecting of one another, and where Shuuhei was weak, Misaki covered, and where Misaki faltered, Shuuhei helped her along.

Misaki, although still incredibly proficient with her blade, did not find hand-to-hand or sword combat to be a place that she was well at instructing. Shuuhei, however, excelled here, and therefore trained the division in that area.

Misaki's true talents were speed, kido, and a clever intellect. She trained them in ways to use powerful kido without incantations, how to think in battle more efficiently, and put them through speed training to strengthen their shunpo.

However, the duo's power wasn't always a true reflection of their division's intellect, wit, and especially grace.

Because one day as an unsuspecting Lieutenant was minding his own business, walking along with paperwork in hand, and catastrophe struck. And it was indeed catastrophe, because it couldn't have been a worse target. The target himself had nothing to do with what made Misaki decide this was an incredibly bad situation, it was more of association.

Because this Lieutenant happened to have flaming red hair, and no one else in Soul Society seemed to have this. The flaming red hair wasn't the problem, and the fact that the kido was Shakkaho, a fire-based spell, therefore slightly burning said red head, and destroying the paperwork he had in hand, wasn't a problem. No, the problem was that those papers belonged to a certain someone. That flaming red head was someone's Lieutenant. A certain, _perfect_, someone. A someone that Misaki turned into jelly around, because she had a raging sexuality whenever her eyes crossed his way.

Which was why Misaki was very resentful against her 5th seat as she bit her nails on her left hand nervously, as her right hand reached out to the 6th Division's captain's office. Her right hand snaked out, then back in, shook a little, and tried a second time, but it wasn't until an annoyed voice rumbled a "Come in." that she finally opened the door.

She took a reluctant finger away from her mouth, and awkwardly entered the room, almost unsure of if she should shut the door or not. She shut it anyway. Captain Kuchiki Byakuya had a way of even sitting gracefully, and he was doing exactly that, paperwork close to hand. The look of the paperwork made her wince. He used calligraphy on all of his documents, and it must've taken him long to do. "Kyoraku-san." He addressed her. "What news do you carry?" He put his writing materials down, focusing intently on her.

Misaki looked around uncomfortably, hoping that the answer would be written on the wall. She went there for a reason, but she just couldn't seem to find it anywhere. She was comfortable around Shuuhei, Rangiku, Shunsui, Captain Ukitake, her division, and even Rukia-chan, and she could laugh heartily with them, make jokes, and banter just like any other girl with them, however, her shyness seemed to be the strongest around the man sitting in front of her.

Sensing her anxiety, the Kuchiki asked politely if she was uncomfortable, or if she wanted to relay whatever she had to do another time, but she shook her head feverishly, and finally found it in her to sit down across from him. "I'm terribly sorry for this Kuchiki-sama, and I take full responsibility for the event, as I should have my division more under control." She found he was easier to talk to if she stared intently into her lap. "But, um, while training my division in kido earlier today, my 5th seat fired a faulty Shakkaho right into Abarai-san, giving him slight burns and burning all the paperwork he had in hand." She told the last part quickly, and ended it flinching, hoping that somehow the pain of embarrassment would be quick and easy.

Silence filled the room for what seemed like years, until Misaki opened one uneasy eye to peak at Kuchiki Byakuya. He did not seem amused. She flashed a nervous smile at him, maybe hoping on the inside that her ability to be cute would perhaps make the situation more amusing.

It did not.

Finally, the Kuchiki spoke. "It's fine. I can redo them. Please keep your division in line from now on. Goodbye, Kyoraku-san." He said it quite coldly, especially considered he said good-bye to her even before she rose from her seat.

Misaki got to her feet quickly, almost using shunpo to get over to the door quicker, with a final apology, and incredibly deep bow, she left the office sheepishly.

And that is why a mortified Misaki told a bemused brother and Ukitake about her day's misadventures in the comfort of her old home.

To Misaki's dismay, Shunsui was holding back giggles, and Ukitake was trying to suppress a wide smile. "It was terrifying, I'm not kidding. He gave me a look like he might just rip me to shreds."

"Ahh! Saki-chan, he knows as well as we do that you really had no part in burning his paperwork." Shunsui stuttered through his sentence from the laughs he was holding back.

"You never were this klutzy when you were in my division, Misaki-chan." Ukitake said playfully.

Misaki grimaced at him. She had known Ukitake for as long as Shunsui had, and also thought of him as a brother figure. Ukitake had grown fond of his best friend's sister, and also thought of her like family. "Jushiro, I expected more out of you." She glanced at her drunken brother, who had more fun with this than any sober person would, "Not so much out of him though." She mumbled.

"Don't worry Misaki-chan, it couldn't have been that bad." Ukitake said, trying to comfort her.

Misaki closed her eyes unhappily. "Couldn't have been that bad, huh?" She mumbled to herself, once again standing outside of the 6th Division Captain's office.

Said Captain closed his eyes, and sensed the 9th Division Captain's reiatsu. Had he not been Kuchiki Byakuya, he would've sighed. "Come in, Kyoraku-san."

Misaki sat down nervously in front of Kuchiki Byakuya. She was getting used to his presence, however, this incident was particularly bad. She remained silent for a minute, examining the walls of his room once again. It had only been eight days since her last visit. Silence ensued as she tried to busy herself with math problems in how many hours it had been in order to distract herself from the present situation.

However, Kuchiki Byakuya would have none of it, and he cleared his throat both impatiently and unhappily.

"I'm really sorry, Kuchiki-sama." She said, bowing her head. "I mean, this one is kind of hard to believe. I could barely believe it myself. But this time it's really my fault." Misaki beat around the bush nervously. "So, you're not going to believe this, but Rukia-chan was walking past the 9th Division grounds just a couple of minutes ago." Misaki paused and smiled sheepishly.

"I don't find that incredibly hard to believe." The Kuchiki said impatiently. Was he being sarcastic?

"Well, that's not the unbelievable part." He nodded slowly, just wanting to hear the damage. "Well, two of my division members were practicing sparring, you see, and one had a loose grip on his Zanpakuto, sending it flying into the roofing above the building. Part of the building began to fall, and it was headed directly towards Rukia, and I used shunpo to get over to her to guard her from the debris, but as I raised my Zanpakuto up to defend her from the debris…" Misaki paused in hopeless defeat, "the hilt of my Zanpakuto collided with her head and rendered her unconscious. She's now resting in the 4th Division"

Even through his cool demeanor, the Kuchiki seemed to be writhing with annoyance. "Please excuse yourself from my office." He said in a complete deadpan.

And just as last time, Misaki bowed deeply and offered her most sincere apologies before closing the door quickly behind her.

This time, no laughter was contained. "Y-you've n-never been like this-s Saki-chan!" A guffawing Shunsui roared. "I always considered you graceful, but it seems your awkward streak as finally set in!" He wasn't even trying to contain his laughter.

Ukitake, though, was trying a little harder to please the distressed Shinigami. "It could've been worse." He said through a chuckle.

"How could it have been worse?" Misaki cried.

"Well," Ukitake chuckled again, "It could've been Kuchiki Byakuya himself."

Misaki let out an exasperated sigh.

_Soul Society is no longer doing their job. The wealthy sit in wealth, and the poor continuously suffer in disaster. _A woman played silently with the petals on a flower. _I thought if we let them rest, they would eventually fix this situation on their own. _A sigh escaped her beautiful lips._ Well, time to play._


End file.
